Bag with an elastic exterior pocket

ABSTRACT

A carrying bag comprises an exterior pocket which includes a back wall, a front wall, an elastic side wall and a zipper assembly. At least the lower half portion of the peripheral of the back wall is seamed with the back edge of the elastic side wall. At least the lower half portion of the peripheral of the front wall is seamed with the front edge of the elastic side wall. The zipper assembly encircles the back wall and the front wall. When the zipper assembly is completely unlocked, the thickness of the exterior pocket is resiliently expandable to accommodate articles of various thicknesses, including an ordinary drink bottle.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

Not applicable

STATEMENT REGARDING FEDERALLY SPONSORED RESEARCH OR DEVELOPMENT

Not applicable

REFERENCE TO SEQUENCE LISTING, A TABLE, OR A COMPUTER PROGRAM LISTINGCOMPACT DISC APPENDIX

Not applicable

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

This invention generally relates to carrying bags such as backpacks,shoulder bags, hand-held bags and the like, that are equipped with anexterior pocket. More specifically, this invention relates to a bag withan exterior pocket whereof the left, right and bottom side walls aremade of elastic material such that the thickness of the exterior pocketis expandable to accommodate articles of various thicknesses, includingthose of a cylindrical shape such as a drink bottle, inserted therein.

2. Description of the Related Art

In the prior art, an exterior pocket of a carrying bag is usually eitheronly adapted for containing thin articles or made loose to be capable ofaccommodating articles with a greater thickness. It is difficult todesign an exterior pocket of a carrying bag that not only looks tidy andneat but also can carry thicker articles such as a cylindrical bottle.

A typical exterior pocket of a carrying bag, that is adapted forcarrying a drink bottle, is usually constructed with a wider outer wallwhereof the top hem is bound by an elastic band or string to keep thetop portion of the outer wall contracted and close to the main body ofthe bag and the aperture of the exterior pocket tight. The outer wall ofan exterior pocket of this type has many corrugations which may beharmful to the overall aesthetics of the bag, especially for one of aplain and tidy fashion.

Therefore, it is desirable to provide a bag with an exterior pocketcapable of carrying an ordinary drink bottle without the above-mentioneddisadvantages of the prior art.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

In accordance with this invention, an improved carrying bag is providedof the type having an exterior pocket which includes a back wall, afront wall, an elastic side wall and a zipper assembly.

At least the lower half portion of the peripheral of said back wall isseamed with the back edge of said elastic side wall. At least the lowerhalf portion of the peripheral of said front wall is seamed with thefront edge of said elastic side wall.

Said zipper assembly comprises a back half strip, a front half strip anda pull tab. Said back half strip encircles the peripheral of said backwall, substantially forming a closed loop, and is seamed with theperipheral of said back wall. Said front half strip encircles theperipheral of said front wall, substantially forming a closed loop, andis seamed with the peripheral of said front wall.

When said pull tab is moved to the end portion of said zipper assembly,said zipper assembly is in a fully closed state wherein the peripheralof said back wall and the peripheral of said front wall are lockedtogether by said zipper assembly. In this mode, the thickness of saidexterior pocket (the distance between said back wall and said frontwall) is minimized, roughly equaling to the width of said zipperassembly.

When said pull tab is moved to the starting portion of said zipperassembly, said zipper assembly is in a fully opened state wherein saidback wall and said front wall are linked only by said elastic side wall.In this mode, the thickness of said exterior pocket is expandable, byvirtue of the elasticity of said elastic side wall, to accommodatearticles of various thicknesses, including those of a cylindrical shapesuch as drink bottles, inserted therein. The expansion of said elasticside wall also generates a resilient force useful for holding thearticle inserted in said exterior pocket.

The advantage of this invention is that the exterior pocket of the bagprovided herewith protrudes from the surface of the bag's main body onlyto a minimum degree when the exterior pocket is empty or is loaded onlywith thin and flat articles such as a mobile phone, a booklet, aPersonal Digital Assistant device or a pocket sized digital camera. Inaddition, the front wall of the exterior pocket can be of a flat shapeand with a simple contour. These characteristics are beneficial formaintaining a simple, tidy and elegant overall appearance of the bag.And when there is a need to carry an article with a greater thicknesssuch as a drink bottle, the exterior pocket can be resiliently expandedoutwards to fit the thickness of that article.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a bag in accordance with this invention,wherein the zipper assembly of the exterior pocket is completely opened.

FIG. 2 is the same perspective view as FIG. 1, wherein the invisibleoutlines of the bag are additionally illustrated in dotted lines.

FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein theelements of the exterior pocket are shown separately.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein the zipperassembly of the exterior pocket is completely closed.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bag of FIG. 1, wherein the zipperassembly of the exterior pocket is completely opened and a drink bottleis inserted in the exterior pocket.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Please refer to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective viewof a bag 10 in accordance with this invention, wherein the zipperassembly 24 of the exterior pocket 20 is completely opened. FIG. 2 isthe same perspective view as FIG. 1, wherein the outlines of the bag 10that are invisible from the viewpoint are additionally illustrated indotted lines. FIG. 3 is a partially exploded view of the bag 10 of FIG.1, wherein the elements of the exterior pocket 20 are shown separately.The bag 10 includes an exterior pocket 20 which comprises a back wall21, a front wall 22, an elastic side wall 23 and a zipper assembly 24.

At least the lower half portion of the peripheral (i.e., the lower leftedge, the bottom edge and the lower right edge) of the back wall 21 isseamed with the back edge of the elastic side wall 23. At least thelower half portion of the peripheral (i.e., the lower left edge, thebottom edge and the lower right edge) of the front wall 22 is seamedwith the front edge of the elastic side wall 23.

The zipper assembly 24 comprises a back half strip 241, a front halfstrip 242 and a pull tab 243. The back half strip 241 has a startingportion 241 a and an end portion 241 b. The front half strip 242 has astarting portion 242 a and an end portion 242 b. The back half strip241, excluding the starting portion 241 a thereof, encircles theperipheral of the back wall 21, substantially forming a closed loop, andis seamed with the peripheral of the back wall 21. The end portion 241 bof the back half strip 241 laterally overlaps the starting portion 241 athereof. The front half strip 242, excluding the starting portion 242 athereof, encircles the peripheral of the front wall 22, substantiallyforming a closed loop, and is seamed with the peripheral of the frontwall 22. The end portion 242 b of the front half strip 242 laterallyoverlaps the starting portion 242 a thereof.

Now referring to FIG. 4, when the pull tab 243 is moved to the endportion 24 b of the zipper assembly 24 (end portion 24 b represents thecombination of the end portion 241 b of the back half strip 241 and theend portion 242 b of the front half strip 242), the zipper assembly 24is in a fully closed state wherein the peripheral of the back wall 21and the peripheral of the front wall 22 are locked together by thezipper assembly 24. In this mode, the thickness of the exterior pocket20 (i.e., the distance between the back wall 21 and the front wall 22)is minimized, roughly equaling to the width of the zipper assembly 24.

Now referring to FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 5, when the pull tab 243 ismoved to the starting portion 24 a of the zipper assembly 24 (startingportion 24 a represents the combination of the starting portion 241 a ofthe back half strip 241 and the starting portion 242 a of the front halfstrip 242), the zipper assembly 24 is in a fully opened state whereinthe back wall 21 and the front wall 22 are linked only by the elasticside wall 23. As previously mentioned, the starting portion 241 a of theback half strip 241 and the starting portion 242 a of the front halfstrip 242 are not seamed with the peripheral of the back wall 21 and theperipheral of the front wall 22 respectively. Therefore, when the pulltab 243 is moved to the starting portion 24 a of the zipper assembly 24,not any portion of the peripheral of the back wall 21 and of theperipheral of the front wall 22 is locked together by the zipperassembly 24. As a result, the whole of the elastic side wall 23 is nowfree to be (horizontally) stretched, subjected only to its elasticity.

In this mode, the thickness of the exterior pocket 20 is expandable, byvirtue of the elasticity of the elastic side wall 23, to accommodatearticles of various thicknesses, including those of a cylindrical shapesuch as the drink bottle 1 illustrated in FIG. 5, inserted therein. Theexpansion of the elastic side wall 23 also generates a resilient tension(self-restoring force) useful for tightly holding the drink bottle 1inserted in the exterior pocket 20.

The starting portion 241 a of the back half strip 241 and the startingportion 242 a of the front half strip 242 are preferably jointly fixedon an end 231 of the elastic side wall 23 so that they may not inclinefreely in an undesirable manner and that the user can operate the zipperassembly 24 with only one hand.

The back wall 21 of the exterior pocket 20 may be an integral part ofthe main body wall of the bag 10. The front wall 22 is preferably madeof flexible but non-elastic material so as to fit articles of irregularshape and to resist deformation in the long term.

1. A bag with an elastic exterior pocket, comprising an exterior pocket;said exterior pocket comprising a back wall, a front wall, an elasticside wall and a zipper assembly; said zipper assembly comprising a backhalf strip, a front half strip and a pull tab; at least the lower halfportion of the peripheral of said back wall being seamed with the backedge of said elastic side wall and at least the lower half portion ofthe peripheral of said front wall being seamed with the front edge ofsaid elastic side wall; wherein said back half strip, excluding thestarting portion thereof, encircles said back wall and is seamed withthe peripheral of said back wall with the end portion of said back halfstrip laterally overlapping the starting portion thereof; and said fronthalf strip, excluding the starting portion thereof, encircles said frontwall and is seamed with the peripheral of said front wall with the endportion of said front half strip laterally overlapping the startingportion thereof.
 2. The bag with an elastic exterior pocket of claim 1,wherein the starting portion of said back half strip and the startingportion of said front half strip are jointly fixed on an end of saidelastic side wall